Litigation

National Group Bankrolls IA Ouster Bid

By Peter Hardin

A national conservative organization, American Family Association, says it already has pumped “a couple of hundred thousand dollars” into a campaign to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices in retention elections.

The disclosure is another sign of the heated controversy playing out in Iowa  over the high court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage, and the extent to which it is capturing national attention (see Gavel Grab).

Bryan Fischer of American Family Association made the disclosure in a radio interview 0f Bob Vander Plaats, the Iowa Independent reported. Vander Plaats is a former Republican candidate for Iowa governor who is now leading a campaign for the justices’ removal.

Here is an excerpt of Fischer’s remarks, as reported by Right Wing Watch:

“Through our political arm, AFA Action, we are heavily invested in this campaign. I want our listeners to know that we are involved in this campaign, we want to see this thing go forward, we have put a couple of hundred thousand dollars into this campaign to stand for natural marriage and Bob Vander Plaats leading the cause there in Iowa.”

Meanwhile a Des Moines Register editorial defended Iowa’s current judicial selection process and found fault with proposals to change it to mirror the federal process for filling vacant judgeships:

“Bring this circus to the Iowa Capitol? No, thank you. Far from being an improvement, this would assure perennial political battles over selecting judges.

“It almost certainly would politicize Iowa’s process: The governor would feel compelled to play to his or her political base by nominating judges who fit a particular ideological mold; the members of the General Assembly (presumably the Senate) not of the governor’s party would feel obligated to find dirt on nominees; and the nominees themselves would be pigeonholed based on their party affiliations.”

To learn more about merit selection of judges, check out Justice at Stake’s issues page on the topic. To learn more about the controversy in Iowa, visit the JAS page for Iowa news.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 07, 2010 (boomark / email).